


Secret Crush

by Earth_Phoenix



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Dursley Family, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based on a Tumblr Post, Chef Harry, Fluff, Good Tom Riddle, M/M, One Shot, Romance, Sane Tom Riddle, Secret Crush, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-02-11 02:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12924981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earth_Phoenix/pseuds/Earth_Phoenix
Summary: Harry has a crush, one he thinks will never notice him.Based on Pairing Prompt's post "Imagine your OTP passing by each other every day on their way to work, never speaking to each other. One day they talk, why?"





	1. The Meeting

This was ridiculous. He was being totally, utterly ridiculous. Harry stuffed his feet into his trainers angrily. His alarm had failed to go off and if he didn’t get there in time. Of all the dumb ideas Harry had ever had, this was the dumbest. It was also the most inconvenient and time-consuming ideas he’d ever had. Harry paused by the mirror in the hallway, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. The world wasn’t going to stop turning if he missed getting to the bench on time. Of course not, but – but not getting to the bench by 7:03AM would mean he wouldn’t see him. Seeing him was the highlight of Harry’s day.

Harry straightened his outfit, tried and failed to tame to his hair, grabbed the first book his hand landed out and dashed out of the door.

Harry made it time, much to his relief. He pulled his grey jacket around him tighter as he stared blankly at the open book in his lap. It was 7:01AM. Soon, his crush was going to walk straight past him and Harry would eventually get up and head to work.

Harry’s heart skipped as finally, his crush walked past. Harry risked a glance over the top of book. He was walking away; a back pack slung over one shoulder, a phone pressed to his ear. Harry could hear the man making little noises of agreement with whoever was on the other end of the line and Harry’s heart melted. He loved it when he got to hear the man’s voice! Sooner than he’d like, the man was gone, swept up the crowd of people. Harry placed the book back into his satchel and slumped down into the bench. Eight months. He had been doing this for eight months and for what? A two second glimpse of handsome man? He didn’t even know the man’s name for crying out loud. Harry sighed and got up, as much as he told himself this was stupid and pointless, he knew he wouldn’t stop doing it. He shouldered his bag and began the short trek to the animal shelter he worked for.

~

‘Hey brat!’ Harry looked up to see his boss standing in the door way. Red faced and grossly overweight. Vernon Dursley was not some shy wall flower. He was brute of a man with a temper to match. ‘What are you doing?’ Vernon stomped flat footed into the kitchen.

The Dursley’s owned a small café that served hot food all day. Which wouldn’t have been a problem if they had hired the right number of cooks to run the kitchen. The Dursley’s were tight with money, however and forced Harry to work flat out in the kitchen by himself.

‘I’m about finished.’ Harry grabbed a towel from the rack behind him and started drying the just washed plates. Today had been reasonably quiet, so Harry had been able to catch up on some basic cleaning, like washing up. Harry hated the Dursley’s. If they hadn’t been family, he’d have left a long time ago.

‘About time,’ Vernon snapped grumpily. ‘There’s a customer wanting to speak to you.’ Vernon smiled nastily, clearly hoping that the customer was going to shout at Harry.

‘Alright, I’ll be out in a minute.’ Vernon stomped back out, managing to break a plate that was sitting on the counter innocently. Harry closed his eyes and counted slowly to ten. _Patience_.

Harry folded the towel neatly and placed on the counter, and placed the broom next to the broken plate pieces. He’d go see the customer and then come back and clean up his uncle’s mess.

~

Harry stopped mid stride, looking directly at him, was the man Harry had been waiting to see every morning. He was sitting in a corner table, sipping a latte. Harry straightened up and hurried over to the man.

‘H-Hello.’ Harry gulped. What was he doing here? How did he know where Harry worked? Was it pure coincide? The look in the man’s eyes suggested not.

‘If they can spare you for a moment, I’d like a private word with you.’ The man looked confident, as if he was used to getting exactly what he wanted.

‘Er,’ Harry bit his bottom lip. Spare him? The Dursley’s would say no just to spite him. ‘I’ll just go check with the boss.’

Vernon was not happy. Harry was his only cook and without him, they’d have to shut down the kitchens. However, he knew who was making the request and even Vernon wasn’t stupid enough to get in the way.

‘Fine,’ Vernon spat ‘You need to go on your break anyway.’ He turned to Harry ‘You have fifteen minutes, or else. Understand?’ Harry nodded quickly, trying to not look as shocked as he felt. It was already passed midday. So, they didn’t have to worry about the lunch time rush. Vernon had never let him go on break early before. Not even for Doctor appointments!

‘Erm, I’m just going to go and get my jacket.’ Harry hurried into the back and tried to breathe normally. Oh God. He’d been caught, hadn’t he? Did sitting on a bench just to look at someone count as stalking? Was he going to get told to back off? He wasn’t hurting anyone.

Harry ran into the kitchen, wanting to grab his jacket before his uncle could change his mind. He slipped on his jacket and sighed. He couldn’t leave the kitchen in the mess that it currently was. He quickly swept up the broken plate and made sure everything was turned off before he left. He may not like working for the Dursley’s, but he took pride in his work.

~

‘You don’t have to look so nervous.’ Harry’s mystery man looked down at him and smiled, Harry tried to smile back, but found it felt false. They were sitting on his bench. The same bench Harry sat on everyday to watch him.

‘Look, I’m sorry, I never meant to bother you.’ Harry looked down at his fingers. Heart pounding in his chest. So, this was it. He wouldn’t be able to sit here anymore. Part of him wanted to cry, he didn’t think what he was doing was _that_ bad.

‘There are only two things that bother me about this. One is that I don’t know your name, the other is that we’ve never been on a date. I’d like very much to change that.’

‘Oh.’ Harry blinked a few times. A slow smile crept across his face. ‘I’m Harry.’

‘Tom,’ Tom ran a thumb gently over Harry’s bottom lip. ‘So, about that date…’


	2. First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you for the incredible response to this little fluff piece! I was - and still am, floored by it. You have no idea how much your support means. 
> 
> I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, I had a ton of fun writing it. ^.^

Tom had first started to nice the cute young man sitting on the bench when he caught the boy reading one of his favourite books, only he was holding it upside down. Huh. Maybe he was hiding from someone had to grab something to cover his face. The image had played on Tom’s mind for the rest of the day. He tried to imagine why a beautiful green-eyed boy would have to hide behind a book.

The following morning the same boy was sitting on the bench, this time reading a newspaper. Tom shrugged it off, perhaps he worked nearby and enjoyed reading before heading into work. Nothing wrong with that.

One Monday, Tom had walked past the same young man and had just reached the end of the road, when he decided to double back, this mysterious young man had been on his mind all weekend, he wanted to at least learn his name. By the time Tom had reached the bench, the boy had disappeared. Tom clicked his tongue in annoyance. No way, he was going to find him.

Even with the distractions and stress of his job, it didn’t take Tom long to find out that the boy was working in a small café, not far from where Tom saw him on the bench every morning. Tom was the headmaster for the local college. Parents and students alike were always keen to talk to him, thinking it would help them advance in school. All it took was a few well-chosen comments to the right parents. He had a place of work, it wasn’t much, but it was enough.

Tom waited little while before approaching, wanting to make sure that he wasn’t imagining things and then bit the bullet so to speak. He walked into the small café and did a double take. The parents of his worst, most troublesome student were running the café. Oh, dear God, they had to be worst people to want to work with the public, the food must be _really good_ if people weren’t running away in droves.

‘Hello Mr. Dursley, I’m looking for one of your employees.’

‘Oh, Headmaster Riddle, welcome to our café!’ Vernon smiled greasily at him ‘I’m sorry but we’re a family business, we don’t have employees.’

‘I see, who cooks for you then?’

‘Our dim-witted nephew. He’s not that bright I’m afraid, it’s why we keep him in the kitchen.’ Mr. Dursley chuckled ‘We took him in and did our best, but there’s only so much you can do for the slow. We give him a job and some money, it keeps him off the streets at least.’

Tom frowned, he had seen the boy reading Oscar Wilde’s _The Picture of Dorian Grey_ , he couldn’t imagine the boy was that “dim-witted.” ‘I’d like to speak to him, if that’s possible.’

‘Oh, of course Headmaster, would you like to drink while you wait?’

‘A latte please.’ Tom took a corner seat, folded his arms over neatly on his lap and waited. Mrs. Dursley came over within minutes, producing a bearable latte.

Tom glanced up in time to see the boy walk into the room and hesitate. This boy was related to the Dursleys? Impossible. The boy was slender and small. Tom didn’t think he was much over 5ft. Tiny. Doll like. Beautiful green eyes filled with worry, jet black hair looked like a lover hand run their hands through it recently. It was artfully messy, but having seen the boy every morning, Tom had a feeling that the boy’s hair just fell that way naturally.

For one heat stopping moment, Tom thought the boy wouldn’t be allowed to leave the café, but then Mr. Dursley remembered Tom could kick his son out of college (and really, Tom wouldn’t be at fault, he had more than enough complaints about Dudley to justify an expulsion) and did the right thing – he let the boy take some time off. By the time Tom had to head back to college, he had a name (Harry), a phone number and plans for a date (the following Saturday.) His footsteps were lighter. Harry was adorable. He couldn’t wait to get to know him better.

~

Vernon had kept him working until well past midnight that night because Harry had returned from his talk with Tom “late,” but for once Harry didn’t mind. Tom had given him his phone number and had called Harry as he walked home, his voice keeping Harry company in the dark.

Vernon had seen Harry’s happy smile the next day and seemed determined to wipe it off. Harry had been kept working in the kitchen, brought almost to tears as the Dursley’s launched a brand-new menu overnight and slashed their prices for the week, bringing more people than ever into the café.

Harry had resorted to texting and calling Tom while hiding in the loo, where even the Dursley’s wouldn’t disturb him.

By Saturday, Tom had had enough. The Dursley’s were treating Harry horribly and he hated it. He decided to see Harry while the boy was working. He walked around the back of the café, to find an exhausted Harry throwing garbage into a bin.

‘Hey,’

‘Oh, Tom! Hi.’ Harry smiled warmly ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I was about to ask you the same question.’ Tom walked to Harry and hugged him tightly, taking the smaller boy by surprise. ‘Have you even slept in the last week?’

‘I’ve had a couple of hours here and there,’ Harry admitted leaning into Tom embrace ‘But I’ve been focused on trying to learn this new menu. They’ve added an extra twenty items. _Twenty_. It’s taking even longer to get prepped and to food out in a good time.’ Frustration coloured Harry’s voice.

‘How many people do you have helping you?’

‘None, it’s just me in there. The Dursley’s won’t hire more cooks.’

‘Just you? You’ve been doing all this by yourself?’ ‘Yup.’ Harry rubbed his eyes and pulled away from Tom. ‘I should probably get back in there.’ Harry gave the man a small smile and headed back inside.

Tom followed, unbuttoning his jacket and hanging on the coat rack. ‘You’re not doing this by yourself. What can I do to help?’ Harry turned, opened mouthed. Tom folded his arms across his chest. Harry needed help, and Tom was going to provide it.

‘Erm, well, you could start on cleaning the dishes? I’m going to need clean ones soon-,’ Tom nodded and walked over to the sink.

For the next hour, the pair worked in harmony together. Tom following Harry’s instructions as Harry effortlessly moved around the kitchen. Tom watched intently. When Harry was focused he had a tendency to sing softly to himself. Harry had given up on his glasses and had shoved them deep into his pocket, fed up of them sliding down his nose as he worked.

Petunia Dursley tried to tell Tom to leave once, but the man stared her down and nothing more was said about him helping Harry.

‘We’re done!’ Harry announced happily, returning from taking the last order up, ‘Thank you so much for helping me.’

‘So not a problem it’s outrageous, they’re making you do all this work by yourself. I mean damn. Want me to talk to them?’

‘How’d you do that. With my aunt earlier, you just stared at her and she buggered off and left us alone. Now you think you can talk to them? Like they’re reasonable people?’ Harry shook his head, messy hair flying all over the place.

‘I’m Dudley’s Headmaster and really, Dudley is hanging on in college by a thread, so if they don’t want me to cut it...’ Harry walked over to Tom, coming to stand in front of him.

‘I figured they were lying about how well Dudley was doing, I mean, I went to school with him…,’

Tom laughed and ran the back his hand down Harry’s face gently ‘You’re wonderful. I just want to wrap you up in bubble wrap and protect you.’ Harry blushed and lightly punched Tom in the chest ‘My savour from the Dursley’s, huh?’

‘Indeed.’ Tom place a quick kiss on the top of Harry’s head ‘As the lunchtime rush is over, how about I cook us some lunch, hmm?’ Without waiting for an answer, Tom opened a fridge at random ‘Aha! Chocolate!’

‘I thought you were looking for lunch?’ Harry teased

‘Chocolate is a lunch food.’ Tom continued to dig around into the fridge ‘Oh, what are these?’ He pulled out a tupperware box filled with small white balls with a quizzical look.

‘Those are a secret. The Dursley’s never actually look in the fridges, so I test out new recipes when I have the chance. Those are a type of Mochi called _Ichigo Daifuku_ , they are sweet rice balls filled with anko and strawberries.’

‘Can I try one?’

‘Go ahead. I should warn you though, those are sweet.’ Tom shrugged and picked a ball, biting down carefully. Harry walked over to Tom, and gently brushed some rice of the corner his mouth, fingers brushing over Tom’s lips.

‘Do you like?’ ‘Hmm,’ Tom swallows his bite ‘That was sweet, but I think I know something sweeter.’ Tom closed the small gap between them, gently placing a soft kiss on Harry’s lips. ‘I was right, your lips are sweeter.’

Tom kissed Harry again, pulling their bodies close, dropping the tupperware box. He ran his hands up and down Harry’s body, enjoying the feel of the firm young body against his. The kiss turned passionate, but Harry pulled back before anything could go further.

Harry’s eyes were dilated, panting, he placed his hands on Tom’s shoulders ‘Maybe we should go a little slower.’

‘Alright,’ Tom agreed, kissing Harry once more ‘Whatever makes you happy.’

He rested his forehead tenderly against Harry’s and held his new love close. He was more than willing to go slow and develop this budding relationship properly. Besides, they still had a date to look forward to!


	3. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom and Harry have their long awaited date! 
> 
> I think this chapter has some of the cutest moments by far and I love how it turned out! i hope you do, too.

‘You’re looking at me like I’m going to eat you.’ Tom reached across the table and squeezed Harry’s hand gently ‘I’m not going to bite – unless you ask me too.’ Tom wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Harry tried to cover his mouth with his hand as his was overcome with giggles.

‘Well you do that hungry look in your eyes -,’ Harry teased back once he was able to fight down the giggles.

‘Mmm, I’m sure you’d taste delicious too,’ Tom winked. Harry blushed.

He and Tom had spent the rest of the afternoon together, (Harry gently moving Tom away from the cooker when it became clear the man had no idea how to cook) and Harry honestly couldn’t remember having a more enjoyable afternoon. Tom was charming and pleasant to be around.

It wasn’t until Vernon stumped into the kitchens, found Tom with his arms around Harry, that the fun ended. The large, beefy man exploded with rage. Harry had quickly shoved Tom out of the kitchens, promising to meet up with him later that night while he dealt with his uncle’s rage.

And now, at long last, he finally had time away from the Dursley’s and was finally able to spend some actual time with Tom. Harry was truly amazed the man hadn’t given up on him.

‘I still find it cute that you didn’t think I would notice you,’ Tom took a careful sip of his favourite rich red wine and grinned over the top of the glass ‘Especially when I caught you reading the same book upside down. Twice.’

Harry fought off a blush, and shrugged ‘I’m guess I’m just used to not being noticed. The Dursley’s always said -,’ Harry caught himself and shook his head. ‘Never mind.’ He didn’t really want to think about them tonight.

‘Whatever they told you, I’m confident it was a lie.’ Harry gave a small half smile, at least Tom was on his side and thought the Dursley’s were awful too. ‘Actually, I wanted to talk about work.’ Tom added.

‘Oh?’ Harry picked up the menu in the up-market restaurant Tom had picked out for them and tried to focus on it.

‘Do you enjoy working there?’ Tom didn’t Harry did, in fact, he was sure of it. He did, however, want to make sure before he did anything.

‘I love to cook.’ Harry answered simply.

‘Nice dodge.’

‘I-,’ Harry paused, thinking ‘I do enjoy cooking, but I can’t stand my aunt and uncle,’ Harry sighed ‘They raised me when my parents died when I was baby – I can’t just leave them without a cook. I might not like them, but they’re the only family I have, and they did raise me, so…,’ Harry shrugged struggling for the right words.

‘You feel like you owe them some amount of loyalty, no matter how much they beat you down?’

‘Sounds crazy I know.’

‘It’s not crazy, I grew up in an orphanage and still remain close to the few friends I made there. I get what you’re going through.’ Tom leaned forward, resting his chin on his fingers. Harry pretended he didn’t notice how long those fingers looked. ‘But that doesn’t mean, you should put your life on hold for them. You have talent in the kitchen. Hell, you’re running one single handily, that’s damn impressive. I’d like to see you in place like this someday. Somewhere that appreciates your talent and supports you.’

‘I tried once, but, well, the Dursley’s didn’t like that much.’ Tom waited but Harry shook his head. That particular memory was still too painful to share.

‘I have some friends that run their own restaurant. Whenever you’re ready to escape the Dursley’s let me know.’ Harry bit his bottom lip thoughtfully and Tom resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him. ‘So, tell me, when are you going to enroll to my college, so I can stare at the cute butt all day?’ Harry laughed and allowed the change of subject.

~

Tom pulled Harry close to him as the pair walked home, the original idea had been to move onto the movie, but Harry had shaken his head and suggested they’d have more fun moving the conversation to a place better suited for talking. Which is how the ended up, walking to Tom’s house at just after eleven in the evening.

Harry had spent quite a lot of the evening wondering why he had never found the courage to speak to Tom before now. The man was a master of knowledge, a walking encyclopaedia. There was no subject Tom couldn’t talk about (even if he lacked interest in it) and Harry found himself falling for the way Tom’s eyes lit up when he began talking about something he enjoyed, like his school.

Tom had only been the Headmaster for a couple of years and still felt as if he had to earn his teachers respect, though confident it would happen eventually. Not counting Dudley, Tom was fond of his students, his love of teaching and seeing his students learn written all over the man’s face.

‘Are you even listening to me?’ Tom asked, amused. Harry opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish for moment.

‘Caught me again, huh?’

‘It’s becoming a habit,’ Tom stopped walking, turning to face Harry, he leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on the other’s lips.

‘A very cute habit.’ Harry blushed. It was just so easy for him to lose himself in Tom’s voice.

‘Well, if my reward is boring kiss like that, it’s a habit that can quickly end.’ Tom raised an eyebrow at the challenge. ‘ _My_ kisses are boring? Allow me to spend tonight proving you wrong.’

‘Hm, you’d better get us back to your place then.’ Harry winked.

Tom couldn’t agree more. Grabbing Harry’s hand, the pair all but ran the rest of the way to Tom’s house, laughing like teenagers.

~

Harry stood in Tom’s kitchen, eye’s flicking all over the room, trying to work out where to even start. Dirty cups and plates littered every service. Old takeaway boxes were all over the place – on chairs, on the floor, balancing on the side of the table. Harry walked around the kitchen slowly, absentmindedly tidying the worst of the mess.

‘How?’ He finally breathed, after making a complete circuit of the kitchen.

‘I’m starting to think it was a bad idea to let a cook into my kitchen.’ Tom was standing awkwardly at the kitchen door. He, rather stupidly, had suggested they have a cup of tea, when Harry had clapped eyes on the kitchen and walked in horror towards it. Tom couldn’t help but picture a detective looking at a particularly gruesome dead body.

‘Out,’ Harry ordered. ‘I am banning you from this kitchen, in fact any kitchen. I am going to clean and then make you a week’s worth of lunches and dinners.’ Harry stood, hand on hips, daring Tom silently to object.

‘Yes, dear.’ Tom slowly backed away, hands in air in defeat.

An hour later and Harry had the kitchen clean and Tom had braved poking his head around the kitchen door, tempted back by the smells now emanating from the kitchen.

‘You can come in, if you promise not to touch anything.’ Harry was busy cutting up what looked like chicken.

‘I didn’t know I had this much food in the fridge.’ Harry paused long enough to give a dirty look before going back to cutting.

‘You have tons of food, a lot of going off and quite a bit of it stuffed into your freezer, but it’s all here. I’m making you chicken and avocado wraps for lunch, along with some avocado panzanella, because you had loads off avocado that needed to be used up.’ Harry tipped the chicken into a frying pan, looking satisfied when he heard it sizzle. Tom just nodded, the fact that Harry had found enough food to make even one meal was amazing to him.

‘Now, what kind of salt do you have?’ This question seemed to make perfect sense to Harry, but Tom was completely dumbfounded.

‘…The salt kind?’

‘Alright,’ Harry sighed ‘Put the kettle on while I hunt through the cupboards.’ Tom happily complied, enjoying the opportunity to ogle Harry’s backside.

By the time he had boiled the kettle, Harry had finished raiding his cupboards.

‘So, no sea salt, but you do have rice, which fair enough, I can work with that.’ Tom was not going to admit to knowing the difference between sea salt and the regular salt he bought from the supermarket.

Tom added the milk and sugar and brought the now finished cups over the table and sat down. Harry was truly in his element in the kitchen.

‘Here, taste.’ Harry gently held a wooden up to Tom’s mouth and Tom opened his mouth obediently. Oh God, that was good.

‘You’re wasted with the Dursley’s.’ Harry merely shrugged, attention back on cooking.

By the time Harry was done, Tom’s freezer was packed with mouth wateringly good food. Dating a cook had its perks.

~

‘Thank you.’ Tom wrapped his arms around Harry’s smaller frame as the cuddled on the sofa. It was now the very early hours of the morning, but as neither had work to go to in the morning, they didn’t feel so bad for staying up late.

‘You’re welcome,’ Harry yawned ‘Though, I believe you said something about proving your kisses weren’t boring earlier.’

‘So, I did.’ Tom stood, picking Harry up and carrying him bridal style to his bedroom. He threw a now giggling Harry onto the bed and pinned on him, his larger body easily covering Harry’s much smaller one. He started with Harry’s left ear, kissing and nibbling at the sensitive lobe, before moving onto Harry’s neck. The giggling soon stopped as Tom peppered kisses along Harry’s collarbone, exploring the younger man’s body with his mouth.

The smell of the ingredients Harry had used lingered on his skin, it was an intoxicating mix of Harry’s natural order and the smell of perfectly cooked food, it was if Harry was asking to be devoured.

Harry tugged on Tom’s silky black hair, pulling him back up and capturing the man in passionate kiss. He bit Harry’s bottom lip, asking for entry. Harry happily granted it, and Tom quickly dominated the younger man’s mouth, his tongue exploring the hot cavern of Harry’s mouth.

Moments passed and finally, the two broke apart, panting heavily.

‘Hm, maybe you don’t give boring kisses after all.’ Harry mused thoughtfully. He yawned again, and Tom chuckled.

‘Perhaps I shall continue to prove myself tomorrow.’

‘Mmhm,’ Harry agreed, already drifting off to sleep.

Not wanting to wake Harry from his sleep, he gently removed Harry’s socks and shirt, placing the young man inside the bed. Tom quickly changed into his own night clothes and hopped into bed beside Harry, pulling up the quilt as he did so, making sure it covered them both snugly. Harry, now more asleep than awake, shuffled over to Tom and cuddled into the man’s side. Tom fell asleep, a smile on his face, his arms full of Harry.


	4. Famille Noire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's winter! Tom has a plan to get away away from the Dursley's and Harry gets a visit.

Winter came quickly to Surrey, gone were summer clothes and brightly coloured flowers, in their place came warm coats and Christmas trees ready to be welcomed to homes. Tom’s college had transformed into a nightmare of brightly coloured lights and students high on even more sugar than usual. Tom longed for the return of spring and normality.

The Café had put up lights and glow in the dark snowman (and prices to “cover the cost”) reminding Harry that even the Dursley’s could be sucked into the spirit of the holiday – sort off.

Harry and Tom had pretty much settled into a routine by then. Harry would swing by Tom’s place on a Saturday night after work, cook enough food to last Tom for the week (The second time Harry had done this, Tom had tried to protest, but Harry had simply shooed him out the kitchen and refused to hear any protest.)

The Dursley’s were another matter entirely, annoyed that Harry was happy, the Dursley’s were working him harder than ever and more often than not, when Harry stayed over, he simply slept, exhausted from running a kitchen single handily.

Tom had had enough, family or not, Harry deserved better. Tom knew exactly what to do. He sat back in his leather chair, the student he was supposed to be reprimanding shifted nervously in his seat. Tom sent the troublemaker a glare.

‘Out before I expel you.’ The wayward student all but fled from the office and Tom relaxed back further into his chair. It was time to visit an old friend.

~

Bella LeStrange, owner of Famille Noir, untied her long black hair from it’s tight bun as she walked to greet her long-time friend.

‘Tom! It’s been a while.’ She wrapped her arms around him fondly. They had met at school and had become fast friends and while she had had a crush on the man during their school years, all that had changed when Rodolphus walked onto her life.

‘Because your prices are too high!’ Tom hugged her back just a fondly. Bella pulled back and looked at him closely.

‘You’ve filled out! Have you finally learned to cook?’

‘No,’ Why did everyone think he couldn’t cook? He had fed himself for all these years and hadn’t died of food poisoning yet. ‘My boyfriend -,’

‘-You’ve finally met someone? Right, come with me.’ Thank mercy! She had worried about him for a while there, Tom could well – Tom could be mean, if not downright cruel when the mood took him, but to have found someone at last? She needed the gossip. Taking Tom firmly by the hand and ignoring the bewildered stares of staff and customers alike, she led her friend into her office.

An hour later, Tom had brought her fully up to speed. ‘Harry’s the reason I’m here, I know you’re looking to hire someone in the kitchens and I know he’d make a great line chef.’

‘Do you think he’d leave where he currently is?’

‘I think if he had a serious offer he would,’ Tom stirred his tea ‘Just don’t mention my name if you do like him, I want this to be a surprise.’

‘Whatever you say, Tom, dear.’

~

Harry tried his very best to smile. His Aunt and Uncle had finally given in and had hired him some help – though not the kind of help he wanted. Dudley, Malcolm, Piers, Gordon and Dennis smirked at him. They stood, grouped in the dining area, looking pleased with themselves. ‘

Thank you, Uncle Vernon.’ Harry managed after a few uncomfortable moments of silence.

‘Fine cook, my lad.’ Vernon smiled proudly at Dudley and Harry had fight back a rude response. There was no way on God’s green earth Dudley was going to be let near an oven – or even an open flame for that matter.

‘Well, if you’ll follow me, I’ll get you all set up,’ Harry turned and headed for the kitchens without waiting for Dudley and his gang of nitwits to follow him. Harry stood protectively in front the ovens as he wearily watched his school bullies troop into his kitchen.

‘Right.’ Harry clicked his tongue, buying himself time to think. ‘Dudley, congratulations, you’ve just made Head Waiter.’

‘Dad said -.’

‘I _’m_ saying I don’t trust you to boil an egg, let alone be any use in here.’ The two glared at each other for a moment.

‘I can cook,’ Malcolm looked to the ground as he spoke, trying not to anger is short tempered friend.

Harry snorted. ‘Alright, cook me something basic. Cook me egg and soldiers.’ Harry moved from in front of the oven, to the opposite counter, arms folded, looking unimpressed. ‘Anyone else want to show off their new-found cooking skills?’ The other three shook their heads. Much to Harry’s surprise, Malcolm produced a passable egg and soldiers, with only the egg being a little too firm for Harry’s taste.

‘It’ll do,’ Harry decided, and Malcolm let out a breath of relief. Harry checked his watch, ‘You lot, go back up to Vernon, the Café will be opening soon, and you need to be uniform before then.’ Turning his back on his departing cousin, he pointed towards a clothes rack at the back of the kitchen. ‘Spare uniforms are back there, you can change in the loo.’

~

Surprisingly, away from Dudley, Malcolm proved to be not only competent in the kitchen, but also rather quiet and thoughtful, he also a dirty sense of humour with pleased Harry to no end. With Malcolm's help, Harry’s workload decreased. He found more he had more time to spend with Tom, something they both appreciated. 

Harry was wiping down the counter tops one afternoon, after a frantic rush of hungry customers - Christmas was fast approaching (A fact Harry was only mildly aware of because Tom's college had closed for the holiday) - when Petunia and Dudley invaded his kitchen.

‘Listen here you little brat, a top chef is eating here, so better make this perfect.’ She glared at Harry as if daring him to say something stupid.

Harry just smiled his most charming smile. ‘Of course, Aunt Petunia.’

Dudley thrust the order ticket at Harry wordlessly, looking grumpy. Harry shrugged and looked at the order. He nodded to himself, ‘If you’ll excuse me, Aunt Petunia, I’ve got an order to complete.’

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Harry turned to Malcolm with a grimace. ‘I don’t know who this chef is, but they’ve ordered nearly all the menu.’

Malcolm winced. In the short time he had been working with Harry, he had come to respect to the boy he used to pick on just because Dudley told him too. The Dursley’s menu was stupidly big for the small café they were and the fact that Harry had run the kitchen for so long without help was downright incredible.

‘Heard.’ Malcolm sighed rolling up his sleeves.

~

Bella clapped her hands with joy at the sight of Dudley waddling towards with a tray full of food. It was childish, but watching him waddle was delightful. He glared, placing the food down with a huff, not even asking if she’d like anything else and ran off, overlarge butt jigging.

Bella hadn’t planned on ordering so much food, but Dudley had annoyed her. When she had politely asked what the best dish on the menu was, the boy had shrugged ‘Dunno,’ he had grunted ‘I don’t eat my cousin’s food.’ She took a long look at Dudley Dursley and then let rip. By the time she had given him a good dressing down, Dudley had his head bowed, looking well and truly put in his place. If there was anything Bella wouldn’t put up with, it was rude people.

Looking at the plates before her, Bella could well believe Dudley had never eaten a bite of it. She had ordered the lemon and black pepper salmon and a mushroom omelette. The Dursley’s had a confused menu; they were trying to be upmarket and international, while also staying true to a traditional English Café – while also wanting to seem healthy, all at the same time. Bella couldn’t imagine most of their customers caring for the fancier food on offer, indeed, in the short time she had been waiting, two orders from the “Classic” part of the menu had been served.

She cut into the salmon and found herself smiling, it was perfectly done, she was going to enjoy tasting this menu.

~

Harry had just started on his and Malcolm lunch (the other boy was busy putting a delivery away, when a new voice broke through his thoughts.

‘Hello, I’m looking for Harry.’ He turned. A tall slender woman was leaning against the counter, black hair pulled into a side ponytail. The woman cut an imposing figure.

‘Hey, yes.’ Harry’s eyes flicked back to the pan and he turned the heat off, not wanting to cause a fire. ‘Sorry, hello.’ He wiped his hands on a tea towel and then shook the woman’s hand.

‘My name is Bella, I own Famille Noir.’ Harry’s draw dropped. ‘You’ve heard of us.’ She teased.

‘I-Yes, wow.’

‘Have you ever worked a line before?’ She asked, cutting to the chase. 

‘Not officially, but I’ve run this place on my own for five years.’ Bella hummed thoughtfully, shocked that Harry hadn’t been stolen away sooner.

‘Then it’s time you got some official experience. I think you might even be able to run a line, what do you think?’

Harry hesitated ‘Maybe?’ he shrugged ‘Right now I have someone helping me, which isn’t the same thing.’

‘Nonsense. When I opened Noir, I was running the line with my husband and brother in law,’ She raised an eyebrow at Harry ‘Experience comes in many forms.’

Malcolm emerged from the panty and hovered uncertainty, not wanting to interrupt.

‘Think about it.’ Bella handed Harry her card, ‘Call me whenever you’re ready.’ She walked away leaving a confused Harry in her wake.

~

‘How was your day?’ Tom kissed Harry gently on the cheek. On auto pilot, Harry had simply walked in and headed straight for the kitchen, much to Tom’s amusement. The boy had opened his shirt, showing of his slightly tanned skin. He made a gorgeous sight. Tom had put down the book he was reading, slipped on his slippers and hurried to Harry’s side.

‘Odd,’ Harry answered after a moment. ‘The owner of Famille Noir came to visit.’ Tom knew this already, Bella had called as soon as she had left, berating him for not telling her about Harry earlier.

‘Great! Did she like you?’

‘How’d you know it was a woman?’ Harry turned to look at Tom over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes at his lover ‘Is this the friend you said was hiring?’

‘Merry Christmas, baby.’

‘ _Tooom_ ,’ Harry whined his name. ‘I can’t -,’

‘You can, you don’t owe those horrible people anything.’ Tom reminded Harry softly. Tom’s hands began to roam Harry’s exposed chest. ‘You are taking the offer, right?’ He nibbled Harry’s ear, enjoying his lover's whimper.

Harry was powerless against Tom’s touch. ‘I’d be working longer hours.’ He warned.

‘Mmhm,’ Tom acknowledged ‘Having a chef as a boyfriend is not the drawback you seem to think it is.’ Tom was now tugging Harry’s jeans down.

‘ _To_ -ah,’ Oh. Tom’s hands were roaming lower, making it harder to think.

‘Let me convince you.’ Tom suggested, Harry could only nod. Turning off the cooker, he allowed himself to be picked up and carried to Tom’s bedroom.

~

Harry woke with a start the following morning. Glancing at Tom’s bedroom clock he heart stopped. _Shit_. He was going to be late! Pushing back the covers, he was halfway dressed when Tom’s tired voice gave him pause.

‘Harry, love, do you remember what day it is?’

‘Tuesday.’

‘Yes and no,’ Tom lazily patted Harry’s side of the bed, head still buried in his pillow. ‘Today is December with 25th. Otherwise known as Christmas Day.’

Harry blinked rapidly. Christmas? He knew the holiday was approaching, had brought presents and placed them under Tom's tree (though they hadn't said anything, Harry had basically moved into Tom's place) – but no, surely it was a week away at least. Harry walked over to the bed, picking up his phone off the floor, where it had dropped during the night. The screen confirmed it. It was Christmas Day. Harry had been working so hard, he hadn’t even noticed the holiday had arrived. That explained the sudden uptake of customers. He flopped back onto the bed and Tom laughed.

‘Someone needs a break.’

‘Were you planning on giving me one?’ Harry yawned, still sore of the last night, not he was complaining. The night before had been very pleasurable indeed.

Tom turned his head to face his lover and grinned ‘I think my Christmas present is having you all day.’

‘In that case, my present to you is accepting Bella’s offer.’ Harry had thought it over during the night and woke up knowing what he had to do, he couldn’t waste more of his youth working for people that resented having to look after him as a child.

The words were barely out of his mouth before Tom was on top of him, kissing him passionately. Tom’s body pressing against his in the most delightful way. It looked like they were going to have a very merry Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very merry Christmas to all my readers! I hope you have a wonderful holiday.


	5. Moving In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is bored and Tom has an idea.
> 
> Also, for those who wanted Dark!Tom to appear - you'll be seeing him after this chapter. This is probably the last of the fluffy chapters for a while.

‘Malfoy, while I expect trouble from you, I also expect you to be intelligent enough to not get caught.’ School was back in session, which meant for Tom at least, more students than usual found their way to his office. Students often found it hard to adjust to being back in the classroom after two weeks spent celebrating Christmas and New Year.

‘But -,’

‘-I am however, willing to look the other way, the ah – “prank” shall we call it – didn’t result in serious injury.’

‘Would’ve served Granger right.’ Draco muttered, his demeanour changing now he was in the clear. Tom decided it would be better for his patience, and the boy’s future at his college if he pretended not to hear that.

‘I will overlook it, on one condition.’

‘Er, what?’

‘You know Dudley Dursley, correct?’ Draco nodded his head. ‘I want you to focus your attention on him from now on. I’ll even bump up your grades a little on classes you’re struggling with if you cause him to end up in hospital.’

Draco’s grey eye’s sparkled with excitement. ‘Deal.’

~

Harry roamed around his flat aimlessly, he was so used to working flat out everyday that he felt completely restless on his first ever day off. What was he going to do all day? He was tried watching daytime TV and then turned it off in disgust. He had cleaned, not that his flat needed much cleaning now he had sort of – unofficially moved in to Tom’s flat. Harry walked back into the small kitchen. He could cook, he mused. He was going to have to find a second job. This was horrible. He couldn’t hack days where he did nothing.

He slumped onto the sofa and glanced at his watch. 10:30am. He swore, he _really_ needed a hobby.

~

Tom glanced up from his paperwork when a knock came at his door. ‘Enter.’

‘I’m not disturbing you, am I?’ Harry walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

‘Not at all,’ Tom sat up and held out an arm, pulling his younger lover into his lap. ‘So, what brings you here?’

‘I’m bored.’ Harry tucked his head under Tom’s chin.

‘Hmm, well, I can always find you something to do.’ Tom bit Harry’s ear lobe making the boy shudder with pleasure.

‘In the middle of a school day?’

Tom leaned forward and picked up the landline phone in his office. ‘Hello, I’m going to busy in a meeting for the next couple of hours, so if you could stop any brats from coming into my office – lovely. Thank you.’

Harry giggled into Tom’s chest. ‘Naughty.’

‘Not as naughty as I plan on being.’ Tom’s hands slipped over Harry’s butt and squeezed.

‘Oh,’ Harry moaned. ‘Sounds like fun, tell me more.'

~

By the time the final lunch bell rang, Harry and Tom were naked, panting messes on the floor. Harry cuddled close to Tom, legs entwined with his lover’s.

‘You should move in properly.’ Tom spoke to Harry’s messy hair.

‘Really?’ Harry was drawing lazy circles on Tom’s porcelain skin. ‘Are you sure?’

Tom pulled Harry’s head back and kissed him deeply, devouring the other man’s mouth until the need to breathe made itself known. ‘Yeees,’ He placed kisses along Harry’s jaw. ‘You’re practically moved in anyway. I just need to give you the spare door key.’

Harry moved his head, to look at Tom properly. ‘You’re really sure about this? Your apartment is way nicer than mine and -,’

‘-and we don’t have to live there. We could find a new apartment, _our_ apartment.’

‘Is that what you want to do? I mean, it’s a big decision.’

‘Yeah, I think so. It might take as us ages to find someone that suits us both y’know?’

‘Hm, it’ll need a decent sized kitchen.’

‘Naturally,’ Tom ran a hand over Harry’s body ‘But before we get too distracted, I’m sure there are kids that need yelling at.’

Harry laughed at sat up ‘Yeah, also, this floor sucks. Get a comfier floor.’

‘Right, I’ll work that into the school’s budget: _Headmaster requires less hard floor for better sex_. Yes, the governors will love that.’

‘You might want to point out that the sex is with your boyfriend, because it could easily be misinterpreted.’ Harry stood, flexing.

‘Noted.’ Tom nodded, no longer really listening. Harry really did have the most perfect ass.

~

The search for the perfect apartment started in earnest a week later. Harry moved in to Tom’s place, while they looked for a place that suited them both. Harry found house hunting relaxing more than stressful; being in a kitchen completing an order for a 12 top was stressful – saying “no” to a bunch of flats because they had tiny ass kitchens wasn’t. In fact, Harry found it rather fun. Tom called him “mad.”

It took Harry about two months to find somewhere that suited both their needs. It was unfurnished and plain, but Harry didn’t mind that. At least he would have something to do on his day’s off and furnished shopping with Tom was – interesting to say the least.

Harry very quickly learned that Tom had a dirty, dirty mind and to stop taking him to home improvement stores.

~

‘Hey cutie,’ Tom pounced on Harry, who was lying on his stomach on the sofa, online shopping. It was bright Saturday morning and Harry didn’t have work until later that night. Tom wasn’t about to let Harry stare at a screen all morning.

‘How do you feel about green?’ Harry asked, eyes locked on the screen in front of him.

‘Perfect for your eyes, but literally nothing else.’

‘So that’s a no to lime green wallpaper.’

Tom peered over Harry’s shoulder, snot. It looked like snot. Tom wrinkled his nose. Harry was not going to decorate their new home in wallpaper that looked like that. ‘Lime green wallpaper? Harry no, how do you even find this stuff?’

‘Google.’

‘OK, it’s time you came away from the internet.’ Tom reached over and swiped Harry’s laptop, placing on the floor out of his reach.

‘Meanie.’ Harry pouted.

Tom turned his lover over and captured Harry’s lips in a passionate kiss that left them breathless.

‘God, I love when you do that.’

‘Well then, let me do it again.’ Harry quickly forgot all about wallpaper colours in the wake of Tom’s amazing kisses.

Harry was finally happy with life. He was free from Vernon, free from a awful job and in love with an amazing man. Life didn’t get much better than this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those not following me on Twitter (@myspirtdreams if you're interested) Secret Crush will now be updated every Monday! See ya next week!

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo...this was going to be one shot. I might add more chapters if there's a demand for it. *looks at all the current WIP's waiting for attention* Maybe this'll get more chapters. Maybe.


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